Tips on Starting a Website

Every business today needs a website.  Without one, you lose visibility and competitive advantage.  To be competitive with your industry, you have to do what the competition is doing and do it much better.  A Facebook account is good, but won’t cut it if you’re serious about growing and expanding your business. You need a website to stay competitive, to earn trust, to keep customers in the loop, for marketing and for search visibility.

Where do you start?  Here is a helpful list to help you make some smart business website decisions.

Find a Good Web Host

There is a Plethora of Web hosts.  How do you decide?

Reviews are one of the best ways to help you choose a webhost.  A simply Google search of the web host + review can help you find more information about a web host and it’s pros and cons.  Referrals from other techies and forums can also be helpful.  Be careful of comments posted by paid posters.

If you’re just starting out, you probably don’t have the budget to hire a programmer to code your website. Search for web hosts that offer modular, user-friendly design features.  There should be enough variety so that your website doesn’t end up looking cookie-cutter.  If you do eventually want to hire a programmer to customize your site, make sure the web host service is just as useful for professionals as it is for novices. Look for mention of a script library and raw access logs at the very least.

When doing your research, keep in mind and look for these features and services:

• Are there hidden fees?
• Is there tiered pricing, is the webhost scalable and do they have room to grow?
• How are the load times?
• If you are inexperienced, is there a free professional website builder?
• How long has the company been in business?
• Does the web host have a dedicated customer service department? Are they easy to reach?
• Is their contact info displayed prominently, and is there an option to both call and e-mail?
• Does the web host offer help pages and resources to guide you through the process of setting up your site? Try calling the customer service phone number just to see how easy it is to reach a real person.

Choose a Memorable Domain Name

When you finally find the right web hosting service, the first thing you’ll have to do when setting up is to choose a domain name.  Often good domain names are taken.  You will have to do a whois lookup to see if your domain is available or for sale.

When deciding on a domain name, remember to make it memorable and uncomplicated (avoid hyphens, numbers and unconventional spelling, for example) to ensure your business can reap all the benefits of word-of-mouth advertising.

Choose a Responsive Design

Modern websites should be mobile friendly.  Estimates show that the number of mobile connected devices will be over 11.6 by 2020.

Google  gives kudos to mobile-friendly websites, giving priority and visibility to mobile enabled sites when searched from mobile devices.

A responsive design can improve user experience when done correctly.  Online retailers that utilize responsive design are generally seeing consumers respond positively to the mobile experience with decreased bounce rates and increased page views from mobile and tablet sessions.

Responsive sites make it easier to view products and content.  As users and key site traffic stats such as page views increase, consumers are more likely to complete transactions on mobile and tablet devices, especially when the check-out process is catered to these devices. Studies show that major brands have noticed a mobile and tablet conversion rate increase of over 20% since making the switch to a responsive designed site.

One of the major challenges with websites is the need cater to various size screens, sometimes having to develop multiple websites to cater to these devices and resolutions. With a responsive designed site, the same content is utilized for desktop, mobile, and tablet devices, scaled to the resolution of the device. All traffic via mobile and tablet devices through a responsive designed site will utilize the same, thus increasing the total site traffic and backlinks to that URL, boosting rankings on search engines.

Search Engine Optimization

Providing high-quality content has always been regarded as a white hat SEO technique and improves your website position in search engine rankings.  Topics you might cover include informational articles about your products or services, interesting images, and reviews that gives more data about what people can expect from your services.

Content should be audience-friendly and should engage your readers.  Research and use high volume keywords in your titles, headings, and content written to promote your services, products and brands.  Engage your customers, provide call to action, commenting when relevant, etc.

If this is all over your head, hire a legitimate search engine optimization company or learn to do it yourself.  Search engines have a very complex system for determining the value of a given link, but they do all agree that links are among the most important factors in determining the relevance of a particular site to a given query.  That’s one of the reasons why, for example, websites that have been around longer are given more weight, but even links from new sites can be beneficial. Obtain links to your site through guest blogging, social media, directories, local directories, or simply ask for a link.

The topics mentioned above are great places to start.  The work doesn’t stop at simply just building a website however.  Use other websites and platforms to your advantage.   Create content, optimize for higher volume or niche traffic, and share on various social media platforms.  Build reviews and make your business marketable, make your website searchable, and ultimately convert visitors into customers.  Do what your competitors are doing.  Do it more (if within your means), and do it better.

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